The invention concerns a biomechanical measuring arrangement for simultaneously detecting the total force distribution and and pressure distribution over the surface for analyzing the motions of human beings and animals.
For such analyses, both force measuring platforms and mats for measuring the pressure distribution over the surface are known. Already published also is a combination of pressure distribution measuring plate fitted with polymer sensors of small size with piezoelectric sensors, not described in detail, under the designation xe2x80x9chybrid platexe2x80x9d. This combination is said to make possible continuous calibration of the pressure distribution measuring plate.
With these devices, an exact detection of the total force by magnitude and direction of the motions of human beings and animals, and at the same time of the pressure distribution over the surface, is not possible. Here the invention provides remedy by combining a commercial force measuring platform fitted with piezoelectric crystal sensors and a likewise commercial high-resolution pressure distribution measuring system having a large number of vertical force sensors spaced over the surface without gaps, and a signal processing unit which processes and displays the signals from both measuring systems. The processing and recording of the signals from both measuring systems can be accomplished very advantageously, separately and independently of each other, in a circuit without delay.
The combination of the two measuring systems makes possible new insights into the motion sequence and pressure distribution patterns. In particular the spatial analysis of the total force vector with the planar pressure distribution provides interesting evaluation possibilities. Knowledge of the third dimension gives the detailed data from the pressure distribution measuring system much greater information value, allowing overall monitoring of its many individual forces.
The control data of the force measuring platform are therefore crucially important, because they can be detected much more accurately than the numerous individual forces of the pressure distribution measuring system, of which the measured values can be obtained only by relatively inaccurate methods.
The combination of a large number of relatively inaccurate sensors with the very accurate piezoelectric measuring platformxe2x80x94especially the detection of the shear forces acting in the surface by using multicomponent sensors in the platformxe2x80x94enables new information to be gathered on the motions of human beings and animals.
From suitable combinations of the signals from the platform and those from the pressure distribution measuring system, a number of software packages can be evolved, tailored to specific questions and applications.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.